FTA agreement within CIS comes into force

The FTA agreement within the Commonwealth of Independent States for Ukraine, Russia and Belarus has come into force.

The agreement stipulates that the parties shall not apply in relation to each other customs duties and other payments equivalent to them except for those listed in the annexes to the agreement.
The exceptions include duties on supply of sugar to Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Moldova: for the countries of the Customs Union it will be 340 dollars per ton (no time limit) for Moldova - 75% of the customs value till 2015.

A fee of 50% of the customs value of sugar supply to Ukraine from the Customs Union and Moldova is also included in the list of exceptions.

Russia retained the 30% export tax on natural gas, but with the proviso that a special formula will work for Ukraine.

 

Ukraine reserves for itself the export duty on ferroalloys, scrap, and sunflower seeds at the rate fixed in the agreements with the World Trade Organization.

The agreement also provides for freedom of transit, but with the proviso that provisions for transit do not cover pipeline transit.

The parties are obliged, within six months after the entry into force of this agreement, to start negotiations on the preparation of a separate agreement on pipeline transit.

 

The agreement allows the parties to impose anti-dumping and safeguard duties, but regulates the consultation procedure to do so.

The disputes between the parties shall be settled by either the CIS Economic Court (located in Minsk, Belarus) or special commission of experts.